June 20, 2024
FILM: THELMA
DIRECTED BY: JOSH MARGOLIN
STARRING: JUNE SQUIBB, FRED HECHINGER, RICHARD ROUNDTREE
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
One of the big films at Sundance this year, Thelma, probably drew more attention for it featuring 93-year old June Squibb in the title role than the quality of the film itself. It starts with a great premise but then gets sidetracked with some ridiculous plot development and misdirected actors.
Thelma spends a lot of time with her twenty something slacker grand son Daniel, played by Fred Hechinger. He teaches her how to use her phone and computer. They have a very solid connection. One day Thelma receives a call from someone she thinks is Daniel saying he’s been in an accident and needs $10,000. This puts Thelma into a frenzy as she gathers the money from its various hiding places around her home and mails it off via the post office. Of course, Daniel was sleeping during the whole affair and his parents, played by Clark Gregg and Parker Posey, arrive to make sure all is well. It is then revealed that Thelma was scammed.
This premise makes for a very good film idea. I’m sure many of us know older people who have fallen prey to such phone scams and perhaps even gave up their life savings. Initially Thelma goes to find the culprits and get her money back but how she gets there and what writer/director Josh Margolin chooses to focus on becomes convoluted and poorly executed. One step Thelma takes is to visit her long-time friend, played by the late Richard Roundtree, who is nursing homebound. The actor is truly great in the film and his performance makes it clear how much he was underutilized during his career.
Problems with the plot start here. Why Thelma has to resort to her friend to go to the post office box instead of her dutiful grandson who sits waiting for her in his car is unclear. What follows is a pretty unbelievable sequence in which Thelma and her friend ride through the streets of L.A. on a motorized scooter in search of the box. Yes, she wants to show that at her age she can still do things of her own accord but it seems like some outside help from the family or the police force would have been a bit more logical.
The situation with the family is also puzzling. Their sense of urgency is almost non-existent. They mostly sit waiting at the nursing home seemingly more concerned about Daniel’s lack of a life direction than the missing Thelma. Parker Posey as Thelma’s daughter is particularly laid back about the whole affair. She is much too relaxed. During these scenes the scam is almost lost as a plot device yet it is the most interesting aspect of the story and should have been the primary focus as promised by the set-up.
Margolin attempts to create an almost action-oriented film that goes a bit over the top. The score is generally upbeat and meant to emulate the music of films such as Mission Impossible, which gets more than one dialogue and visual reference here. Margolin seems to want this to be more of a road trip, high stakes comedy than the social satire commentary it could have been. The film begins a bit like Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, which also starred June Squibb in an Oscar-nominated performance and instead turns into something less dramatic and more a failed madcap comedy.
Certainly the film has its moments. Squibb and Hechinger are very good together and boast some great chemistry. There are some social statements being made about the good and evil sides of technology and its effects on older generations. It also emphasizes that age doesn’t mean people aren’t capable of living and fighting their own battles.
Still, the tone and plot are a bit too uneven to really stand next to other great films such as the aforementioned Nebraska that are able to make their statements without a lot of the silliness and plot conventions found here.
Thelma premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It begins screening theatrically today.
FILM: THELMA
DIRECTED BY: JOSH MARGOLIN
STARRING: JUNE SQUIBB, FRED HECHINGER, RICHARD ROUNDTREE
RATING: 2 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
One of the big films at Sundance this year, Thelma, probably drew more attention for it featuring 93-year old June Squibb in the title role than the quality of the film itself. It starts with a great premise but then gets sidetracked with some ridiculous plot development and misdirected actors.
Thelma spends a lot of time with her twenty something slacker grand son Daniel, played by Fred Hechinger. He teaches her how to use her phone and computer. They have a very solid connection. One day Thelma receives a call from someone she thinks is Daniel saying he’s been in an accident and needs $10,000. This puts Thelma into a frenzy as she gathers the money from its various hiding places around her home and mails it off via the post office. Of course, Daniel was sleeping during the whole affair and his parents, played by Clark Gregg and Parker Posey, arrive to make sure all is well. It is then revealed that Thelma was scammed.
This premise makes for a very good film idea. I’m sure many of us know older people who have fallen prey to such phone scams and perhaps even gave up their life savings. Initially Thelma goes to find the culprits and get her money back but how she gets there and what writer/director Josh Margolin chooses to focus on becomes convoluted and poorly executed. One step Thelma takes is to visit her long-time friend, played by the late Richard Roundtree, who is nursing homebound. The actor is truly great in the film and his performance makes it clear how much he was underutilized during his career.
Problems with the plot start here. Why Thelma has to resort to her friend to go to the post office box instead of her dutiful grandson who sits waiting for her in his car is unclear. What follows is a pretty unbelievable sequence in which Thelma and her friend ride through the streets of L.A. on a motorized scooter in search of the box. Yes, she wants to show that at her age she can still do things of her own accord but it seems like some outside help from the family or the police force would have been a bit more logical.
The situation with the family is also puzzling. Their sense of urgency is almost non-existent. They mostly sit waiting at the nursing home seemingly more concerned about Daniel’s lack of a life direction than the missing Thelma. Parker Posey as Thelma’s daughter is particularly laid back about the whole affair. She is much too relaxed. During these scenes the scam is almost lost as a plot device yet it is the most interesting aspect of the story and should have been the primary focus as promised by the set-up.
Margolin attempts to create an almost action-oriented film that goes a bit over the top. The score is generally upbeat and meant to emulate the music of films such as Mission Impossible, which gets more than one dialogue and visual reference here. Margolin seems to want this to be more of a road trip, high stakes comedy than the social satire commentary it could have been. The film begins a bit like Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, which also starred June Squibb in an Oscar-nominated performance and instead turns into something less dramatic and more a failed madcap comedy.
Certainly the film has its moments. Squibb and Hechinger are very good together and boast some great chemistry. There are some social statements being made about the good and evil sides of technology and its effects on older generations. It also emphasizes that age doesn’t mean people aren’t capable of living and fighting their own battles.
Still, the tone and plot are a bit too uneven to really stand next to other great films such as the aforementioned Nebraska that are able to make their statements without a lot of the silliness and plot conventions found here.
Thelma premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It begins screening theatrically today.